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City unveils financing plans for three stadium sites

Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council President Barb Johnson released details on financing plans for three potential Vikings stadium sites in downtown Minneapolis at the Capitol this afternoon.

The sites — Linden Avenue, Farmers Market and Downtown East — would all be cheaper to build than a stadium in Arden Hills, more affordable for fans and publically owned, Rybak and Johnson told Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders today.

The Downtown East site is the least expensive plan floated by city leaders. The total development cost for the site would be $895 million. The Farmers Market site would be $1.046 billion and the Linden Avenue site $1.031 billion, according to a news release.

Rybak and Johnson have presented two financing plans for the sites. The first calls for a 0.35 percent citywide sales tax and a 1 percent lodging tax. The second option would draw on revenues from a casino at Block E — 5 percent of gross revenues through 2020, then 3 percent of gross revenues after 2020 and a $20 million license fee.

Each financing plan would help pay for a proposed renovation of Target Center.

"All of these stadium are true People's Stadiums: they are far more accessible and affordable for fans than Arden Hills is," Johnson said in a statement. "It makes perfect sense for the People's Stadium to be in Minneapolis, the top host city in the upper Midwest and a city of people who already know how to serve the people of Minnesota. We're tried and test in Minneapolis. We know how to do this, far better than anyone else."

For more details on the financing plans for the three sites, click here.